Update December 2018: it looks like some accounts are proactively being renewed in December 2018, well ahead of the stated expiration of Jan 31, 2019. It is currently unknown what criteria were used, but previous years appeared to indicate around $10K++ in IC spend only.

I’m not the finger-pointing expert Tim, as a reading of your post will confirm. There are obviously quite a few here who don’t like what they see when the mirror is held up for them, so your advice is very relevant - thanks. As for me, I simply believe IHG has a well thought-out and effective marketing strategy for its top level which creates a buzz, frenzy or whatever one wants to call it, but this thread is clear evidence of its success. That may not be a popular view but it’s as valid as anyone else’s.

The thing is I still don't get it how someone can call a marketing strategy (what a term for simply not disclosing top tier requirements...) as effective, when the reactions by those who generate a lot of revenue and even don't get a response to their questions are "Well, then I spend my money somewhere else." But as you said, your view is as valid as anyone else's.

I doubt even IHG would deem their handling of their top-tier status as "well thought-out and effective", let alone anyone else.

If their aim is to alienate loyal customers, however, they excel at this. Constantly changing the re-qualification criteria, to the point where we don't know what hoops we need to jump through, does not help foster loyalty. It suggests a complete lack of organisation and coherence, rather than the diligence and careful planning of some marketing genius.

A better approach would be a mid term review of the account and then perhaps an email saying something like "Keep going, spend another $' 000's or x amount of nights by the end of the year to retain your status"

At least you'd know where you stand, rather than trying to hit a moving target.

It indeed creates attention to the program, but only in a negative way. And all this at the same moment that they choose to get rid of their unique selling proposition (minibar). Except for getting coverage, can you pinpoint any positive element about this show?

I wouldn’t call it a buzz, more a controversy. The programs is becoming the laughingstock of loyalty programs on the blogs and in travel circles.

It also gives an unprofessional and unorganised impression, not only this year. It is a recurring theme. This speaks more than the “thank you for your loyalty” mantra.

May I ask you to be respectful to each other and discuss the qualificaiton of Royal Ambassador and not the person, who qualified. And please, do not become personal.

I know, that this could be an highly emotional topic, but nevertheless please avoid personal attacks and respect different opinions. I have deleted and edited a couple of posts for this reason which have been personal and / or completely off-topic

I did get the Renewal Kit line on 27 Dec, in addition to RA Status and IC upgrade on 4 Jan, but still no email. I called the RA desk and they confirmed my status for 2019 and indicated the emails were coming out in batches.

Finally got the "We cordially invite you to another year of Royal Ambassador status" email. In the email, they cited 66 nights in 6 different countries. Although the number of countries is accurate, I had 68 nights vs 66. I did have 2 nights that had to be manually adjusted, so I am guessing that is the discrepancy. Hmm, I thought their IT finally resolved that issue?
For anyone that didn't make RA and had manually adjusted nights, definitely email them!

The invitations are not yet complete and continue in batches with the final communication reaching members before the expiry of 2018 Royal status on 31 January.
The reviews have been completed and members accounts continue to be amended over the coming weeks to reflect Royal Ambassador status for 2019. Invitations are reviewed and invited throughout the year based on revenue and behaviours by market. The number of invited members varies to ensure those members invited into Royal Ambassador receive recognition and the guaranteed benefits at InterContinental.
Royal Ambassadors who are downgraded receive complimentary Spire Ambassador and those members who decide to continue with Ambassador the following year retain Spire Ambassador for the life of their Ambassador membership. IHG Rewards Club Spire Elite is the top tier for stays across the IHG portfolio, whilst at InterContinental only Ambassador guarantees upgrades and 4pm check-out for an annual membership fee.
Unfortunately, some changes occur due to benefit abuse from a few that impact benefits for others. Was the complimentary minibar benefit designed to take home 70 miniature spirits and 7 bottles of champagne for a casual drink in your room during a 7-night stay or the 8 x 750ml spirit bottles from a premium suite in just 2 days?

The invitations are not yet complete and continue in batches with the final communication reaching members before the expiry of 2018 Royal status on 31 January.
The reviews have been completed and members accounts continue to be amended over the coming weeks to reflect Royal Ambassador status for 2019. Invitations are reviewed and invited throughout the year based on revenue and behaviours by market. The number of invited members varies to ensure those members invited into Royal Ambassador receive recognition and the guaranteed benefits at InterContinental.
Royal Ambassadors who are downgraded receive complimentary Spire Ambassador and those members who decide to continue with Ambassador the following year retain Spire Ambassador for the life of their Ambassador membership. IHG Rewards Club Spire Elite is the top tier for stays across the IHG portfolio, whilst at InterContinental only Ambassador guarantees upgrades and 4pm check-out for an annual membership fee.
Unfortunately, some changes occur due to benefit abuse from a few that impact benefits for others. Was the complimentary minibar benefit designed to take home 70 miniature spirits and 7 bottles of champagne for a casual drink in your room during a 7-night stay or the 8 x 750ml spirit bottles from a premium suite in just 2 days?

understood, i don't disagree, on the flip side of that, we had multiple six month stays in Shanghai going back a few years, one year was 300 plus nights at the one IC, the Area GM overseeing the four IC's at the time (subsequently became Area GM for Dubai), an Aussie also, had worked for a director of my family's hospitality business at Crown Casino, and had a good relationship with him, we had second top category suite, one under Presidential, and other than maybe a bottle or two of water on a daily basis, nothing else was consumed, maybe the very odd beer or glass of wine for a guest visiting, so we did our best at those lengthy stays over several years to bring the RA mini bar average consumption down. Whilst the warm, and fuzzy feeling of "unlimited" will be missed, the USD50 credit will cover more than we would consume on any one night in any IC property, and i welcome the reintroduction of the food element being covered as a positive move. Importantly, the only concern wld be if it was a precursor to eliminating the benefit altogether, than wld be a tragedy for IC, as it is the unique selling proposition, and distinguishes RA program.

Thank you for the news update, I really appreciate the feedback from (as it seems) some IHG official.
However please let me point out that the mentioned Spire benefit is not relevant to those complaining and discussing the way IHG handles the renewal in this thread. We all spend more than 10k USD, so we will have Spire status in the following year anyway. This is only a benefit for those who fail also to accomplish the Spire criteria, a situation probably no one here is afraid of. What several others and I have tried to point out over the last few pages is, that IHG didn‘t offer any substantial benefit to those who would‘ve past the barrier last year. Those are the ones who spend a serious amount of money in the expectation of getting a tangible result. These expectations have not been properly managed (e.g. by disclosing at least the financial part of 2019 criteria) and the non-reaction to those who seeked out for clarification shows a total lack of awareness of important customers.

I doubt even IHG would deem their handling of their top-tier status as "well thought-out and effective", let alone anyone else.

If their aim is to alienate loyal customers, however, they excel at this. Constantly changing the re-qualification criteria, to the point where we don't know what hoops we need to jump through, does not help foster loyalty. It suggests a complete lack of organisation and coherence, rather than the diligence and careful planning of some marketing genius.

A better approach would be a mid term review of the account and then perhaps an email saying something like "Keep going, spend another $' 000's or x amount of nights by the end of the year to retain your status"

At least you'd know where you stand, rather than trying to hit a moving target.

BTW, is there really any need for your snide and sarcastic comments?

By publishing a criteria would you prefer to have a tier that is unable to guarantee the benefits due to the number of members and a deteriorating club lounge product due to no re-investment from owners or an invitational tier that is evaluated on revenue spend and behaviours to ensure the guaranteed benefits can be delivered consistently?

Was the Royal challenge introduced to select members in November a trial to understand if, in fact, it changes behaviours, enabling those select members the opportunity be guaranteed their status?

Spire Ambassador is the highest published tier and Royal Ambassador the invitational tier of InterContinental, as is Diamond Medalian and 360 at Delta or BA Executive Club Premier.

The thing is I still don't get it how someone can call a marketing strategy (what a term for simply not disclosing top tier requirements...) as effective, when the reactions by those who generate a lot of revenue and even don't get a response to their questions are "Well, then I spend my money somewhere else." But as you said, your view is as valid as anyone else's.

Quote:

Originally Posted by turner32

I doubt even IHG would deem their handling of their top-tier status as "well thought-out and effective", let alone anyone else.

If their aim is to alienate loyal customers, however, they excel at this. Constantly changing the re-qualification criteria, to the point where we don't know what hoops we need to jump through, does not help foster loyalty. It suggests a complete lack of organisation and coherence, rather than the diligence and careful planning of some marketing genius.

A better approach would be a mid term review of the account and then perhaps an email saying something like "Keep going, spend another $' 000's or x amount of nights by the end of the year to retain your status"

At least you'd know where you stand, rather than trying to hit a moving target.

BTW, is there really any need for your snide and sarcastic comments?

We obviously won’t agree on any of this, but it’s clear to me that there has been a conscious decision to keep people guessing around RA status. In this tiny sample who take the time to post here, most of whom are highly focused on maximising points/rewards/status etc that creates frustration. Outside FT I’m pretty sure there are vast numbers who just like staying at ICs for whatever reason, and are delighted when they receive an invitation. To condemn it in this small subset is perhaps comforting but there’s a (much) bigger customer group than this. Overall I’m sure IHG is benefiting, or they would make some change to the system.

The invitations are not yet complete and continue in batches with the final communication reaching members before the expiry of 2018 Royal status on 31 January.
The reviews have been completed and members accounts continue to be amended over the coming weeks to reflect Royal Ambassador status for 2019. Invitations are reviewed and invited throughout the year based on revenue and behaviours by market. The number of invited members varies to ensure those members invited into Royal Ambassador receive recognition and the guaranteed benefits at InterContinental.
Royal Ambassadors who are downgraded receive complimentary Spire Ambassador and those members who decide to continue with Ambassador the following year retain Spire Ambassador for the life of their Ambassador membership. IHG Rewards Club Spire Elite is the top tier for stays across the IHG portfolio, whilst at InterContinental only Ambassador guarantees upgrades and 4pm check-out for an annual membership fee.
Unfortunately, some changes occur due to benefit abuse from a few that impact benefits for others. Was the complimentary minibar benefit designed to take home 70 miniature spirits and 7 bottles of champagne for a casual drink in your room during a 7-night stay or the 8 x 750ml spirit bottles from a premium suite in just 2 days?

Well said. They still have until the end of the month to complete the renewal cycle, and make up for what happened.

Not sure I can follow you regarding Spire. Kimsbrand makes a valid point, these profiles already naturally qualify for Spire by spend, or are clearly no longer fit for the status. (Not even discussing the Spire non-benefits themselves.)

No one here would defend any abuse of benefits such as the minibar. But I can not imagine that this kind of abuse would be rampant. Nevertheless my full support for taking measure against abuse. I hope this goes both ways, and that there is also attention for fake room upgrade categories and the new compensation if an upgrade is not available.